- Emotions overwhelmed 12-year-old Victoria Wanjira when her name was called as the national champion in the French category during the Kenya National Music Festivals
- This surge of emotions stemmed from weeks of grappling with fear and self-doubt, particularly as she observed the formidable nature of her fellow competitors
- On the designated day, Victoria's teacher, Naomi Susa, said four seemingly simple yet impactful words to her: "You are a winner"
- These words served as the catalyst, igniting a spark of magic within Victoria as she took the stage and won the national championship
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When Victoria Wanjira was announced as the national winner in the French category at the Kenya Music Festivals, tears welled up in her eyes.
It was heavy news that the 12-year-old girl from the Creative Integrated School in Kiambu County struggled to take in.
Victoria grappled with self-doubt
Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, her teacher Naomi Susa disclosed that Victoria battled with believing in her abilities to top the nation for many weeks.
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Her fears were compounded by the fact that the run-up to the nationals held at Dedan Kimathi University in Nyeri was dotted with ups and downs.
Naomi says they started well at the sub-county and county level by emerging position 1, but things got tough at the regional level when they came in second.
"This really discouraged her, as she missed the top position by just one point. She had a 89% mark while the winner had 90%," the teacher recalled.
Started running out of ideas
Victoria had been training to do a French solo verse with entries from hundreds of other students who seemed better than her on paper.
Naomi reveals that when they lost the top position at the regionals, she took the challenge well and returned to the drawing board.
"I remember asking God to give me fresh ideas. Because, honestly, I was running out of them," she said.
The astute teacher admitted that training one poem over and over again was exhausting, coupled with the fears the youngster had in her mind.
Victoria spit magic on stage
Seemingly, God heard Naomi's prayers as Victoria produced magic when she stepped up on the podium to present the poem titled "Mon Visage" by Sadik Katana.
The efforts by teacher and student paid off when the results for Class 1302H were announced and none other than Victoria had emerged as the best overall nationally.
"I screamt! We jumped and hugged each other with tears in our eyes. A journey of four months was finally being crowned," Naomi remembered with pride.
With the trophy at hand, the educator says that the journey has taught her to always put God first as they always prayed before every rehearsal and performance.
Memorable moments
Naomi says one of the most memorable moments was the day her student panicked while in the queue after seeing 20 students ahead of her.
"Teacher, I can't do this, look at all of us doing the same poem" she whispered to her.
She saw the fears in her eyes and not only hugged her tight but also convinced her that she was way better than all of them.
The words of encouragement sunk in the little girl's heart, propelling her to go on stage and show the world that she was there to win.
God did it for them
After winning, Naomi notes that she went backstage and gave the youngster a pat on the back for two reasons.
The first was, of course, for emerging the national champion, while the second was for listening to her words and acting on them.
"We always had such faith conversations. We spoke and declared we were winners long before it happened, and it did!" she continued.
Naomi advises others to learn the art of speaking to their circumstances and battles, declaring that they can do all things through Christ.
Gachagua stole show at 2022 edition
During last year's edition of the Kenya National Music Festivals, then-newly-elected Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua travelled to Kisumu to attend the ceremony.
While representing President William Ruto, Gachagua took to the podium and unleashed some killer moves to a traditional drum beat to mark the folding of the national event.
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